There are many reasons to appreciate this film as memorable. If you know the songs performed by Daniel Santos, particularly his iconic ones such as "Yo no he visto a Linda" or "Virgen de Medianoche", among others, you can't miss watching La Ultima Gira. Éktor Rivera's incarnation of the Latino Frank Sinatra, who always did it his way, is impeccable. His emulation of the voice of Daniel Santos is remarkable and add to that the modernization of the orchestration so that the overall musical experience of the 30's and 40's is more atuned to the sound of the music we hear after the hi-fi audio revolution of the 60's took place. (Audiophiles will understand.) Sit back and enjoy "Cumbanchero" and "Amor Perdido" (the latter heard in the background in the film, but you can hear it in full sound in the soundtrack available on You Tube and other on-line platforms).
Just for that, the movie is a must. But the movie is much more than just music. There is a story, albeit fictional, of the last hurrah of Daniel Santos. Maybe in real life he had more than one "last tour". And who knows what happened in those (as he was known to get arrested for unruly behavior in just about every country he toured). He loved to drink, womanize, brawl and simply shock (as the time he appeared nude on stage because the crowd was impatiently clapping for him to start the show, something he is constantly reminded about-and respected for-in the film). Yet, the Daniel Santos portrayed in the movie restrained himself from such scandalous episodes of the past. Instead he was rather introspect, stayed in his room at night and his only extracurricular adventure was his returning to the place he seemed to be more at ease, a brothel in Colombia (reputedly he used to live in one, in another country, in his younger years).
But the film's storyline brings someone from his past into his life, someone he didn't end well with. Interestingly, he behaves as a true gentleman would. And, while such blast from the past could very well have been the center of the movie, and indeed an important part of it, in the complex life of a very complex man as Daniel Santos was it simply couldn't. His work relationship with his biographer/assistant (who is the narrator of the film) was perhaps just as important. Daniel would have liked to re-write who he was, but his biographer needs to report what it had been, as the journalistic background he had required him to do. The relatively short reference to his then wife (he was married 12 times) also was important, just as his brief re-encounter with the madame of the brothel he escaped to one night while in Colombia, who seemed to love him much as an aunt or another close relative would.
It is impossible to not mention the scenography and the cinematography. They are simply beautiful.
The highlight of the movie is the scene in which Daniel and his artistic rival Marcela sing together "Diez Años". The movie's version of the song-written by Latin America's most prodigious songwriters of the epoch, Rafael Hernandez-is the best this writer has ever heard. Many emotions come into play during that scene. And the movie could have ended there. But it went on to show the Daniel Santos that we saw in the 80's in Puerto Rico, performing here and there in B joints and nightclubs, the guy you might be able to meet and, being a total stranger, have a drink with; the womanizer, the brawler, the alcoholic, the patriot. The guy who always did it his way. The incomparable singer. The legend.
